US says Iraqi forces ready to move into Ramadi, warning of tough battle

WASHINGTON DC—Iraqi security forces are capable of retaking Ramadi, said the spokesperson for the US Anti-Islamic State Operations on Tuesday, warning in the meantime that strong defenses built by militants inside the city would make it a tough battle.

“We now believe that battlefield conditions are set for the ISF [Iraqi Security Forces] to push into the city,” said spokesperson Colonel Steve Warren. “They have the combat power, they have the training, they have the ISR [Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance] and they have the air power that we're providing,”

Warren who briefed reporters via Teleconference, estimated ISIS to have 600 to 1000 fighters inside Ramadi with strong defense lines that would prove a challenge to the Iraqi forces.

“[It's] Important to note that this is an enemy who's had time to dig in, establish some very hard defensive positions,” he said. “There's trenches, there's berms, there's obstacles, there's what would amount to minefields created by placement of IEDs,”

He added that it would take determined efforts by Iraqi troops to break these lines and move into the city.

The Iraqi army lost the Sunni city of Ramadi and capital of the Anbar province to ISIS militants in May following two days of fighting.

The US central command (CENTCOM) stated only last month that the Iraqi army was not prepared to retake Ramadi despite heavy concentration of forces around the city.

According to Warren, the US has now supplied the Iraqis with new equipment to overcome ISIS defense lines while many new recruits trained and armed by the coalition forces have joined the army.

“Some of the newer equipment that we've given them specifically designed to help them breach through these obstacles,” said Warren.